His bag, he told the Fox 7 outlet in Austin, was too heavy to fly for free and he would have to pay a $200 fee. Rader's bag was filled with a Kevlar vest, two helmets, and boots which he wore while in Afghanistan.

Photo: Fox 7 Austin

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TIMELINE: PR nightmares for US airlines

National Guard First Lieutenant John Rader told reporters that the embattled United Airlines charged him $200 to fly with a 70-pound military duffel bag filled with standard battlefield gear.

Shirley Yamauchi was told by United Airlines employees in Houston to give up her son's seat to another passenger on a flight bound for Boston. Yamuchi, of Kapolei, Hawaii said she paid $969 for the flight. The child was forced to sit on his mother's lap.

In June 2017, United Airlines said the company was reviewing an incident where a Houston employee allegedly attempted to "wrestle" a violin from a passenger. The tug of war broke out when classical musician Yennifer Correia was boarding a flight from Houston to St. Louis and a United Airlines supervisor told Correia she could not carry a violin with her.

In 2008, musician Dave Carroll's guitar was broken while being transported by United Airlines. After Carroll was not reimbursed by the airline, he released a song called, "United Breaks Guitars," which went viral and ended up costing the company $180 million in of stock.

In 2012, severe thunderstorms caused multiple United Airline planes to sit on the tarmac for more than three hours, surpassing the limit put in place by The U. S. Department of Transportation. Worst of all, some of the grounded planes did not have functioning bathrooms. The next year, United Airlines was fined $1.1 million over the delays.

In 2015, United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek abruptly resigned amid an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office. According to Fortune, the resignation "stemmed from a federal investigation into the allegedly politically-motivated lane closures of the George Washington Bridge leading into New York City."

In March of 2017, United Airlines stopped two teenage girls from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings, a move that social media users criticized for being sexist. A spokesperson for the company said the girls' leggings violated their dress code policy.

In December of 2016, YouTube star Adam Saleh was removed from a Delta airlines flight. Saleh claimed he was removed from the plane for speaking Arabic. Delta rebuked the claim and said Saleh was removed because he was a known prankster and "sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting." Either way, the incident sparked heated social media criticism for both parties.

In February of 2017, a Michigan woman's dog died after a United Airlines flight. According to a Facebook post by the passenger, the dog had to spend 20 hours in a kennel since he could not fit on the originally planned flight. The dog died due to complications from stress.

In 2015, a United Airlines attendant reportedly refused to let a mom sit her 3-year-old quadriplegic daughter with cerebral palsy on her lap for safety reasons. The airline later issued an apology to the mother who said she was humiliated by the incident.

In 2012, a teen with down syndrome was not allowed to fly first class. The mother claims they were being "singled out," while an American Airlines representative said the 16-year-old was a flight risk.

In 2010, a businessman's complaints received widespread attention after he was asked to switch seats by British Airways due to a rule keeping adult males from sitting next to a child they did not know. The airline changed the seating rule after the 35-year-old businessman said he was being treated like a "child molester."

In November of 2016, an Indiana family traveling with a disabled child and their service dog were kicked off their flight. The airline claimed the dog was too large, but later apologized for the incident.

In 2010, film director Kevin Smith was removed from a flight because of his size. In a recording posted on his website, Smith said he fit in the seat and theorized he may have been removed because an airline employee did not like his movies.

In 2017, aviation unions and groups sued the Obama administration over the decision to allow Norwegian Air to fly to the U.S., a move many saw as a threat to American jobs. During a heated election cycle, the move made national headlines.

Homeward-bound soldier says United made him pay $200 fee for overweight military duffel bag

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United does permit active military personnel to check up to five bags free as long as each item is under 70 pounds. A United rep told him he could buy second bag to lighten the load in the overweight bag if he wished but Rader declined to do so. A fellow soldier traveling with ended up in the same boat.

"There was no empathy to the situation. I'm not looking for sympathy, but some form of empathy in the situation. There was none of that. It was just cold. I had to either pay or leave the bag." Rader told Fox 7.

American Airlines has a policy that allows military members to travel with up to five complimentary bags weighing up to 100 pounds. Southwest Airlines says that active military are exempt from its two-piece baggage limit as long as all pieces are under 100 pounds.

For his part Rader says that he will no longer use United Airlines when he travels as a civilian.

United released a statement Tuesday night, stating they wanted to make things right.

"We are disappointed anytime a customer has an experience that doesn't meet their expectations, and our customer care team is reaching out to this customer to issue a refund for his oversized bag as a gesture of goodwill," the airline said.

Rader told Fox 7 that while that is a kind gesture, he wants to make sure things are changed for fellow traveling military personnel in the future, not just him.

According to the Associated Press on Friday, United Airlines has now refunded the money to Rader.